Caskets of Pearls Vol. 2 - Casket of Pearls 58

Casket of Pearls 58

Tags: Hazrat Yusuf, Spiritual Kingdom, Muqarrabin, Recognition, What is Soul?, Flower, Jannat

Q571 It is said that Hazrat Yusuf (May peace be through him) was the Imam of his time. His entire story is filled with ta'wili symbols. Please tell us what wisdoms are hidden in his peerless beauty.
A571

The foremost wisdom is that, in comparison to his physical beauty, his inner beauty was even more sublime, excellent and everlasting.
It also contains the indication that all Perfect Men are equal in their inner beauty and other excellences.
The manifestations of knowledge and wisdom are truly amazing, thus the everlasting beauty of knowledge and wisdom had become embodied in Hazrat Yusuf (May peace be through him) by Allah's command.
A noble hadith can be translated as: 'Allah is the master of inner beauty, He loves inner beauty'. However, no person can be internally beautiful without knowledge.

Q572 In verse 12:87 of Surah-yi Yusuf it is stated that Hazrat Ya`qub said: 'O my sons, go and enquire about Yusuf and his brother (Bin Yamin), and do not despair of Allah's mercy (rawh/ruh). Verily only those who do not believe, despair of Allah's mercy.' It is said that rawh/ruh are one word.⁹ Thus Hazrat Imam Yusuf (May peace be through him) was Allah's mercy (rahmatu'llah) as well as His soul (ruhu'llah) for his time. [It is said that] every Imam possesses these same attributes. What do you think about this?
A572

This statement is absolutely correct and true. I would only like to add that an Imam with all such attributes is present in every time.
Although undoubtedly the holy Prophet Muhammad (May Allah send blessings and peace through him and his progeny) is the universal mercy, nonetheless, the `Ali (May peace be through him) of the time is not only the door to his knowledge and wisdom but also to all his attributes. This clearly means that Allah's mercy comes through the Prophet and his mercy comes through the Imam.

Q573 Please explain the ta'wili purport of verse (12:100) of Surah-yi Yusuf.
A573

Yusuf (May peace be through him) enthroned his spiritual parents on the throne of his personal world and both they and the other hudud-i din fell down prostrating to him.
That is, when Yusuf (May peace be through him) conquered his personal world, he enthroned the Imam and the bab on its throne. Then the Imam returned it to him, that is, he was given the Imamat and all the hudud-i din began to obey him.
The ta'wil of prostration is obedience. Thus, the ta'wil of the dream that Hazrat Yusuf (May peace be through him) had seen of eleven stars, the sun and the moon prostrating to him is that the eleven hujjats, the previous Imam and the bab began to obey him.

Q574 Can a spiritual kingdom be established in every personal world? Is this the objective of the greater jihad? What is the proof of there being a spiritual kingdom in a human being potentially or actually?
A574

Yes, a spiritual kingdom can be established in the batin (inner world) of every individual and it is certainly the objective of the greater jihad to achieve this.
There are countless proofs of the possibility of a great kingdom in human beings.
Carefully examine in Surah-yi Dhariyat, verses (51:20-21) which show that like the physical world there are numerous kingdoms in the personal world too. However, they are all one under the True Religion, and the Sovereign of all of them is Allah, the One, the Vanquisher (al-wahidu'l-qahhar, 40:16). From this point of view it is correct to say that there is a single great kingdom (mulkan kabira, 76:20) in the paradise of the personal world, under which there are many other kingdoms as well.

Q575 One outcome of two great wisdoms: Allah had granted the progeny of Hazrat Ibrahim (May peace be through him) the Book, wisdom and a great kingdom (4:54); Allah has encompassed everything in the Imam-i mubin (36:12). The outcome of these two statements is that: Everything is in the Imam-i mubin, that is, the Book and wisdom as well as a very great kingdom. The Imam is also from the progeny of both Hazrat Ibrahim (May peace be through him) and the progeny of Hazrat Muhammad (May Allah send blessings and peace through him and his progeny). How do we understand this?
A575 This is natural logic, and it is truly amazing, wonderful and revolutionary.

Q576 Yesterday, 10th Muharram, 1420/27th April, 1999 my beloved niece Bibi Gul Andam, the daughter of my sister passed away. She was the mother of our respected Ghulam Qadir Baig. We are therefore asking a question here for the sake of conveying blessings to the deceased: It is said in Surah-yi Waqi`ah verses (56:88-91): "Then if he (the one who is dead) is one of those who are drawn near (to Allah), (there is for him) rest, satisfaction and a garden of delight (full of scented flowers and other bounties); and if he is of those of the right hand (he will be told) 'peace be upon you' by the people of the right hand." Please explain to us the wisdom of these verses in detail.
A576

For those who are drawn near to Allah (muqarrabin) in paradise there is every kind of wealth of soul and spirituality, every kind of flower and nourishments, which are available only in the form of fragrance through the olfactory faculty, as well as beautiful and attractive gardens which are full of subtle physical, spiritual and intellectual bounties.
The above is a brief description of soul and spirituality. You can however, study the complete topic of muqarrabin and of the people of the right hand in the Qur'an.

Q577 How can we know the states of qiyamat, the hereafter and paradise?
A577

This can be done by means of the knowledge of certainty, the eye of certainty and the truth of certainty or in other words through recognition.
If people were not made responsible to develop their inner eye, it would never have been stated (in the Qur'an) that certain people are blind.
If the personal world had not contained the hereafter and everything, then the recognition of the self would not have been equated to the recognition of Allah and He would not have described Himself as the treasure of recognition.
Spiritual death prior to physical death is extremely necessary so that one can attain the recognition of qiyamat, the hereafter and paradise.

Q578 How can you count the soul of an ordinary male or female mu'min among the muqarrabin?
A578

Since all the creatures are (as though) Allah's family,¹⁰ how can any of the followers of the `Ali (May peace be through him) of the time be considered ordinary? A dignitary of religion has said: Buwad zanjir ba zanjir paywand – sar-i zanjir dar dast-i Khudawand = each link of the chain is connected to the other (that is, the chain of hudud-i din) and its topmost link is in the hand of the Mawla and the Master. The chain of hudud-i din is linked to Mawla in this way and this example is very logical.
Read Surah-yi Tatfif (83) carefully. Although the rank of the muqarrabin is higher than that of the people of the right hand, the record of deeds of both is in the Kitab-i marqum, which is in `Illiyyin. The only difference is that the muqarrabin can see their records of deeds even today.

Q579 You have written a book on soul entitled "What is Soul?" Are you satisfied with this book? Is it written in the light of the guidance of the hadith 'Man `arafa'? Does it contain the recognition of the personal world? Does the personal world contain the greatest treasure of recognition?
A579

God willing, I am very satisfied with this book.
Yes, this work has been done in the light of the above luminous guidance.
Yes, there is the recognition of the personal world in the book.
Certainly, the personal world contains the greatest treasure of recognition.
According to me the book "What is Soul?" is so important that people should do research on it because the miracles of soul are explained in it.

Q580 Many people come to my imagination and ask questions of various types. On one occasion I was asked: Will there be every type of flower in paradise? Does one await the coming of spring there too? In which words are flowers mentioned or alluded to in the wise Qur'an?
A580

Paradise itself is, in reality, the garden of every type of original and subtle flower.
Since paradise is the world of command no time is required for the manifestation of any bounty there.
Wherever in the Qur'an the word 'jannat' or its synonym is mentioned, flowers and fruits are certainly mentioned too. Thus the word 'jannat' (Garden) is the most comprehensive word to imply these meanings.
Flowers are also mentioned in those verses which are related to the visual bounties of paradise.

⁹Al-Mufradatu'l-Qur'an, p. 211.
¹⁰Mizanu'l-Hikmat, Vol. 2, p. 347.

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